Hey...........What's up with These....N Y Mets?

The New York Metropolitans ...........

1st place in the NL east. Winners of 10 in a row........

The train wreck, which was the Mets, has been cleaned up, spit-shined and polished , and transformed into the hottest team in baseball.

Exactly one month to the day of Willie Randolph's unceremonious firing, these Mets beat the Cincinnati Reds last night in a come from behind slug-fest , 10-8, to extend their winning streak to 10 games.

A month ago, the Mets were 6 1/2 games out ........in 4th place .......and going nowhere.

Jerry Manuel, who took over for Randolph, is now an impressive 18-9 as new Mets manager.

While we still feel somewhat bad for Randolph, and the way the firing was handled.........You've got to give high fives to Manuel and his staff.

The players are responding.......the team is winning........for now.

But this is New York.....

And.....we all know.....things can change........

In a New York minute.

More Willie Randolph

This is a very funny take on the Willie Randolph firing, thanks to Comedy Central, The Daily Show, and Jon Stewart.

And.....of course..........our good friends at Red Lasso......

Enjoy:

Willie's Story

This is interesting.....and different......





From the New York Daily News:

Willie Randolph opens up after his recent firing as Mets manager

BY WILLIE RANDOLPH
SPECIAL TO THE NEWS

Friday, June 20th 2008, 4:00 AM

Three and a half years and 555 games after it began, my dream of bringing a championship to the New York Mets officially expired a few minutes after midnight in Suite 1602 of the Westin Hotel in Costa Mesa, Calif.

You've heard of Black Friday? Well, this was my Black Tuesday.

Call me naive if you want, but I never saw it coming. I was sitting on a sofa across from Omar Minaya, the Mets' general manager and the man who hired me.

Omar was baseball's first Hispanic GM, and on Nov. 4, 2004, he made me the first African-American manager in New York baseball history. The kid from Queens and the kid from Brooklyn doing some pioneering together, hoping to lead the team they grew up rooting for back to glory.

It was a sweet, storybook day. It's too bad there wasn't a storybook ending. I remember how upbeat and excited Omar sounded when he hired me; he could barely get out any words at all.

That was then. Now, on Black Tuesday, we'd just beaten the tough Los Angeles Angels, playing one of our best games of the season. Mets VP Tony Bernazard came into my office.

"Omar wants to see you in his room when you get back to the hotel," he said.

"Okay," I replied. There had been a slew of stories in recent days that a couple of my coaches, Rick Peterson and Tom Nieto, were about to be fired. All the stories were leaked by "Met front-office sources."

It got to the point over the last month or so that whenever I saw the word "sources" in a story, I knew either me or someone on my staff was going to be declared on the verge of unemployment.

Anyway, when I walked into the room Omar asked me to sit down. He sat right across from me. He started talking about how the team was underperforming, how it needed to turn around.

He said it was time to make some changes, and I waited for him to talk about whacking Rick and Tommy, but he just kept talking, for a minute or two, maybe longer, about how the team was better than it was playing, about all the stories that were out there and the cloud hovering over the team.

As Omar went on and on, looking very uncomfortable, this weird chill started to course through by body. I could feel myself going cold. He kept talking, almost stammering, and the chill got worse.

Suddenly, it occurred to me that maybe he was talking about me. Maybe I was the one about to get whacked.

Finally, I stopped him. I looked right at him.

"Omar, are you firing me?" I asked. He looked away for a minute and then met my eyes. "Yeah, I'm going to make a move," he said. "It's a hard decision, but I have to make it."

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Hump Day News & Views

Way to go, Doc.......

Last night Doc Rivers' Boston Celtics dismantled the Los Angeles Lakers in game six of the NBA finals to win its 17th world championship.

Not that we're bragging........but at the start of the season, we predicted the Celtics would win it all.......and just last week, we said Boston would win this series in 6.

This Boston team was not your father's lily white Boston team of the 50's and 60's. This Celtic bench was a sea of black. All black.......players and coaches. Not a single caucasian in sight.

A black coach beat a white coach in a world championship. When .....if ever.......has that ever happened in the world of sports?

Doc..........Boston..........we salute you.




Happy Trails...........Willie.....

In recent blogs, we have documented the trials and tribulations of one Willie Randolph.......now the ex-manager of the New York Metropolitans. Randolph was fired sometime in the wee hours of yesterday morning.

Timing.......is everything. And this was bad . Last season, after the Mets historic collapse......Randolph should have been fired. Instead, they did nothing. Last month as the Mets continued to struggle.......ownership met with Randolph...........again.....nothing.

Now, less than a month later, while New York is on a west coast road trip in L A.....and having won 2 in a row........the Mets make a move. Randolph became the first manager in the majors to be fired this season, the move announced in an e-mail at 12:14 a.m. PDT Tuesday.

While inevitable..........the timing of this stinks......Willie deserved better.





A Lame Tiger........

The golf world suffered a major blow today as Tiger Woods announced he will miss the rest of the season to have surgery on his ailing knee.

Tiger .......IS.......the PGA. Tiger equals TV ratings.

After that huge win Monday in the U S Open.......interest in golf and the PGA were at an all time high.......

Oh well..........no more golf on TV for me.......for the rest of the year. Just won't be the same.

Willies' ........... Woes

Nobody said it would be easy......

Managing any team in New York can be trying.

Managing a losing team in New York......can be .....well close to suicidal. Willie Randolph has graced the front and back pages of the tabloids much too often lately.

This is a sampling of just one of the 5 New York area Dailies.....and this is just for last week.

Enjoy........

Hump Day News & Views

Finally........the final four.....

The marathon we know as the NBA play-offs, is nearing an end........Well, sort of. Boston and Detroit will battle in the east, while Los Angeles and San Antonio will knuckle up in the west. Some time in late June a champion will be crowned. The Spurs bested the sentimental favorite, New Orleans Hornets, Monday night in game 7, played in New Orleans. A day earlier, in the new Boston Garden , the Celtics out lasted LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in yet another game 7. Don't go placing bets.......but our picks are Boston in 6......and the Lakers in 6.




It's getting a little hot in here........you think?

New York Met manager Willie Randolph is feeling the heat of being the leader of an underachieving team. Since Randolph took over, in the Nation League east, the Mets have finished 3rd (2005, 83-79), 1st (2006, 97-65, losing in the NLCS), and 2nd ( 2007, 88-74).

That 2nd place finish last year was tough on New Yorkers. The Mets blew the single biggest lead in the standings in the shortest amount of days in the history of baseball. With 17 games left in the season, the Mets had a 7 game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies..........They would go 5-12 in those final games and be stamped, "the biggest chokers....ever".

This year the Mets are languishing in 5th place with a mediocre 22-21 record. Over the weekend , Mr. Randolph lashed out at the New York media.......(Never a wise thing to do..."You're out numbered, Willie.") He said the media treated former Yankee manager, Joe Torre with more respect. Huh? Memo to Mr. Randolph, "Torre won 4 world championships.......You have..........how many?" Willie, Willie.......come on! This is New York, New York........You of all people should know what comes with managing in this town.

Be that leader.......That leader the Mets are paying you to be. You are a good man and a good baseball man. But ........you've got to win............or ........you've got to go.



Happy trails.....Mike Piazza ....

Former Met, Mike Piazza is calling it quits.......After a 16 year career, Piazza announced his retirement from baseball. And what an unlikely though highly successful career it was.

The year was 1988. Major League Baseball held its' annual amateur draft. 1,026 players were drafted ahead of Piazza. As a favor to Piazzas' father, then Los Angeles Dodger manager, Tommy Lasorda , used the teams final pick to select Mike in the 62nd round.

The rest.......as they say......is history. This future Hall of Famer amassed stats which puts him atop of the heap......of the elite. He is the greatest hitting catcher........ever. With more home runs (427 ) and more RBIs (1,335) than any catcher before him. A .308 life time batting average.......is not too bad either..... Mike, we applaud you.




Ryan..........gets rich! Quickly!

$72 million..........six years.........$34.75 million guaranteed. Now that's a contract! The Atlanta Falcons signed its' franchise savior and number 1 pick, QB Matt Ryan, to a contract Tuesday. It's only been a little more than a month since the Falcons made Ryan the 3rd overall pick in the 2008 NFL draft.

Lets' just hope Mr. Ryan is up to the challenge. That's an awful lot of money to give to person who has yet to sell a single seat in the Georgia Dome........Has yet to throw a single pass......or gain a single yard........Has yet to get an NFL completion........much less a touchdown.

$72 million..........six years........$34.75 million guaranteed..........It's not my money...... but.....



Another National Champion for UGA......

They have a pretty decent athletic program at the University of Georgia in that small southern college town of Athens. Yesterday , the Mens Tennis team won its second NCAA title in a row as the Bulldogs defeated Texas, 4-2. The gymnastics team (the gym dogs) won its championship earlier this year.

The baseball team (the diamond dogs) is currently ranked 7th in the nation with hopes of competing in this years' college world series.

Seems ....that.....football team ( which some will rank 1st or 2nd in the pre-season polls ) will have some tough acts to follow come fall......

Finally..........

I think there was a winner on American Idol...........but I don't know who.......just wasn't interested......but you can google it ........and find out.

Finally.....Finally......

The WNBA season has began ...........again.....just not interested.....but you can google the WNBA also........Come to think of it........you can google any thing......at any time..... and that's .......a good thing.